Neutral Milk Hotel Drawings Spark Speculation About New Double Album

Recently, Netural Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum began selling new, original handmade drawings as part of a series called “the book cipher sings.” Mangum has been selling his art on the NMH site since 2005, but the most recent batch has led to increased speculation that new music is on the way. Now, one Redditor who purchased some art has pointed out that the words “double album” are written at the top of a particular piece, along with various question marks. Another drawing says “double awol bombe”–a drawn out spelling of double album. And in yet another picture, there’s “double” at the top, and the letters “L” and “P” upside-down beneath the faces of the main figures.

Below, see the primary image in question, which says “double album.” See more drawings here and here. Pitchfork reached out to Neutral Milk Hotel’s reps, who could not offer any confirmation.

In another thread, one user has offered more potential evidence suggesting more Neutral Milk Hotel music is on the way. First, the drawing displayed on the sale page has “1st,” “2nd,” and “3rd” on it. The band has released two albums–1996’s On Avery Island and 1998’s beloved In the Aeroplane Over the Sea–which could suggest a third is forthcoming. In addition, the drawing’s description includes the word “steganography,” which is a message concealed in another message–something that Mangum could very well be doing with his drawings.